Nidra:
Your article is wonderful. It so aptly describes the emotion we all felt that day as we stood on Omaha Beach hearing Dr. Hal describe what occurred there in the early hours of June 6, 1944. Your authorship totally captured the majesty of that shared experience and the nobility of the modest, but very courageous man who delivered the message.
To a person, everyone with whom I have shared that experience since returning to the United States has found the story riveting and has expressed to me that they have felt “chills” of patriotic emotion upon hearing it. I know that I have been profoundly affected by being there and that I feel unapologetic and extremely proud of all that my country and the military personnel that have served it have accomplished.
It was my great privilege to meet you on the American History Forum Tour and to share thoughts at lunch that day, as we sat across from Hal and Rita, about how the Americans and the French view one another within the current state of world affairs. And I greatly admire your persistence at setting the record straight with those in the French community who choose to unjustly criticize the United States of America.
I hope, in light of the recent change in French leadership and the forthcoming presidential election here, that the two countries can continue to improve their relationship and to build stronger ties in light of a world that threatens them both. Certainly, they share a long history of aiding one another in times of need and they should each heed that history.
I would very much like to stay in touch and to have the opportunity to meet again should I have the opportunity in the future to visit Paris.
Best regards,
Arnold Shaheen
